Prepare To Be Terrified

Well there you are.

I am so accustomed to welcoming you in person to the Nook, offering drink, nibbles, and each week’s tale to terrify, that I’m not sure how to behave like a co-editor who’s also trying to convince you to click the BUY button over there, so…

Welcome, Children of the Night. Welcome to the book, welcome to “Tales to Terrify, Volume 1.”

Thank you for looking and thank you even more for buying. You will buy, won’t you? ‘Course you will. Your purchase will help us continue our mission—to voice the best contemporary, modern and classic horror, dark fantasy, creepy tales, and shivery slivers available in HTTP-Land. On top of that, thank you for listening. I assume you are a listener. If you’re not—and after you’ve bought “Tales to Terrify, Volume 1″—get thee to talestoterrify.com and amend your ways.

It’s all there, day one to the present.

If you are a listener, please know that you may have heard some of the stories in this book. But! This is not a “Best Of…” effort. “Volume 1,” as we call it here in the District of Wonders, represents stories our authors and the book’s editors—Harry Markov, Tony C. Smith, and yours in truth-and-terror—wanted to see between covers.

Some of the tales are by people you know well. Just take a peek at that cover. Joe R. Lansdale, Gene Wolfe, Christopher Fowler, Gary McMahon… AND some are by people you’ve probably heard of only on the show.

The “yes” part of that response came about when I had a moment to think and, finally, convince myself that this barely ten year-old medium of podcasting was an ideal way to bring writers such as Martin Mundt, Alex Collier, Mike Penkas and others to the attention of a wider world. Fact is, we kicked off the show not with one of Joe’s, Gene’s or Chris’s stories but with Martin Mundt’s “Chair” a never-before published story by a writer few people outside of Chicago had ever read.

So here we are, not quite a year into our Friday night gatherings in the Nook and you are about to click that friendly button and get our first ink-on-paper production. Dig in. Read. Enjoy.

Then come back to the nook, relax, grab something warm to drink, snuggle with a loved one and listen. Pleasant dreams, hm.

—Lawrence Santoro, October, 2012

Over Twenty Terrifying Tales

Jumbo Portionsby Christopher FowlerWet Dog Perfumeby Michael PenkasSeen Through Flameby Gary McMahonJust Around the Cornerby Alexei CollierIn A Country Churchyardby Bev VincentGod of the Razorby Joe R. LansdaleBread and Circusesby Felicity DowkerChairby Martin MundtGrandmother’s Road Tripby Cat RamboIn The Dustby Tim LebbonThe Last Few Days in a Life of Frostby Joe PulverGreen Apples, Red Nailsby John EversonJust a Suggestionby John Shirley

Working for the God of the Love of Moneyby Kaaron WarrenRat Time in the Hall of Painby Lawrence SantoroThe Short Go: A Future in Eight Secondsby Lisa L. HannettThe Goosleby Margo LanaganLost and Foundby Mark MorrisAn Eye for an Eyeby Nancy KilpatrickAll I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Classby Nicole CushingBig Rock Candy Mountainby Weston OchseBluebeardby Angela SlatterThe Tree is My Hatby Gene Wolfe